Marriage Material at the Birmingham Rep

Based on the novel of the same name by Sathnam Sanghera, Marriage Material follows two sisters and their family as they navigate life as a Punjabi family in Wolverhampton. This story is a beautiful representation of growth,  community and how family will always be there for you to come home to, no matter how long you’ve been away or how much you have changed.

This was such a beautiful play that I am glad to have seen, and I urge others to try and see this play in any form should it return, which I greatly hope and think it will.

*POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD*

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My Review:

I went into Marriage Material without any prior knowledge of the play or book and was blown away by the depth and power of the story presented during the performance. The novel by Sathnam Sanghera has been turned into a play written by Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, with direction from Iqbal Khan and is a fabulous example of a stage adaptation from another source done well. The programme also includes a glossary providing ‘translations of Punjabi words and phrases, along with explanations of cultural references that appear throughout the play’ to aid audience members who may struggle to follow or understand certain moments. The set and costume design by Good Teeth complemented the text, and the main set was extremely versatile, allowing for smooth transitions throughout the performance to various sets and locations that added to and developed the plot. The other creatives involved in bringing this story, produced by the Birmingham Rep and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, to the stage were Simeon Miller (Lighting Design), Holly Khan (Composer & Sound Designer), Anjali Mehra (Movement Director), Jatinder Chera (Casting Director), Anna Wood (Associate Sound Designer), Rakhee Sharma (Associate Movement Director), Dani Mac (Fight & Intimacy Director), Harper K Hefferon (Assistant Director) and Lil Dicksoon (Production Manager). All creatives involved have come together to create a truly wonderful piece of theatre that I hope to once again see gracing a stage in the future.

Mrs Bains (Avita Jay) is essential to the story, and you see how she decides to do what is best for her daughters based on what she believes is right and the pressure of the difficulty of making those decisions is visibly seen throughout the performance. The sisters Surrinder (Anoushka Deshmukh) and Kamaljit (Kiran Landa) are the main focus of the story, and both actresses perfectly bring these characters to life and were so captivating from start to finish. Dhanda (Irfan Shamji) is the almost parental figure who seeks to replace Mr Bains (Jaz Singh Deol) later in the play. His ability to create a character who, on the surface, seems caring but when you look deeper, starts to have an uncomfortable nature to him, further adds to the plot and layers embedded within this show. Jaz Singh Deol multi-roles as Mr Bans and Arjan, and it is amazing to see how he brings these wildly different characters to life, creating individuality for both respectively during the performance. Another performer who multi-roles as two characters as the time periods change is Omar Malik as Ranjit and Tanvir. Both of his roles were joyously brought to life, and I loved the energy that he was able to bring to them and this sense of comfort during the more uncomfortable moments of the show. One of the performers who plays three roles is Tommy Belshaw, who portrays Jim/Bill/Tommy. His ability to create these dark moments during the show was amazing, and the complete switch-up of one of his characters almost increased the shock, but also the fear/tenseness experienced by the audience when the true nature was revealed. The other actor who plays three roles is Celeste Dodwell as Claire/Mrs Flanagan/Reporter. She was fabulous in all three of her roles but a stand-out for me was her portrayal of Claire as it felt multi-faceted and I, as an audience member, felt as though I experienced the emotions of her journey with her despite it being a shorter journey that only took place in Act 2 compared to the journeys of other characters that I emphasised with that took place across both acts.

Should this show return, I urge you to see it as it is such a wonderful and joyous piece of theatre.

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Content Warnings:

The theatre has warnings on display, which are as follows:

This show contains:

• Strong Language

• Racial Slurs

• Scenes that may impact some audience members

• Sexual References

• Themes of Racism

• Flashing Lights

• Strobe Effects

I personally did not make note of any moment that I felt should be mentioned, nor noticed anything that did not feel covered by these warnings.

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Thank you for taking the time to read and I hope this review has proved interesting and helpful for you :)

- AnxiousTheatregoer